Microsoft Is in Talks To Buy Facebook Stake — SAN FRANCISCO — Microsoft Corp. is in talks with Facebook Inc. about making an investment in the social-networking startup that could value Facebook at $10 billion or more, according to people familiar with the matter.

Microsoft reportedly eyeing Facebook stake — Microsoft is eyeing an investment in Facebook that would value the social networking company at about $10 billion. — The investment, which was reported by The Wall Street Journal citing "people familiar with the matter, connects a few dots on the social networking landscape.

Company Will Monitor Phone Calls to Tailor Ads — Companies like Google scan their e-mail users' in-boxes to deliver ads related to those messages. Will people be as willing to let a company listen in on their phone conversations to do the same? — Pudding Media, a start-up based in San Jose …

Today's Terrible Idea: Pudding Media — A new start-up called Pudding Media is offering free PC-based telephone calls—if users allow the company to listen in on their conversations and serve targeted ads based on what they're talking about (NYT). This is one of the worst business ideas we've heard …

The Mad Ad World & Cheap Calls — Technology business often goes through periods where rationality and reality are suspended. We just might be in that phase, and nothing highlights that than the launch of ad-supported phone services. In UK, Blyk, an ad-supported mobile service we wrote about eons ago launched.

'$100 laptop' to sell to public — Computer enthusiasts in the developed world will soon be able to get their hands on the so-called "$100 laptop". — The organisation behind the project has launched the "give one, get one" scheme that will allow US residents to purchase two laptops for $399 (£198).

Buy a Laptop for a Child, Get Another Laptop Free — One Laptop Per Child, an ambitious project to bring computing to the developing world's children, has considerable momentum. Years of work by engineers and scientists have paid off in a pioneering low-cost machine that is light, rugged and surprisingly versatile.

Think tank to EU: Unbundle Windows on PCs — The Globalization Institute, a Brussels-based EU think tank, has recommended the European Union require all PCs to be sold without pre-loaded operating systems such as Microsoft Windows. — There is no reason why computer operating systems …

Tablet PC users will like Sketchcast for non-commerical usage — The first thing I thought of was the Tablet PC when I saw Sketchcast as a delicious popular post in my RSS reader this morning. With Sketchcast you can share drawings with or without voice all through a pen-friendly Flash interface in the browser (Firefox or IE).

Pownce vs Digg: Who Will Kevin Rose Back? — I've speculated previously on the growing conflict Kevin Rose has between his roles at Digg and Pownce, and now it would appear that we may finally be on the eve of Rose being forced to decide between the two. — Leah Culver, a co-founder …

Who Else Got Burned By An 'End Of Summer' Promise? — Long Zheng of istartedsomething.com is mad. So am I, although not quite about the same thing. Zheng is brassed off that the Windows Ultimate team hasn't delivered DreamScene (basically, the ability to use a video file as your desktop background) …